Viscose product



Patented 6,

UNITED STATES 1,651,404 PATENT OFFICE.

SAMIUIEI. A. NEUJICH, F EDGEWATER PARK, NEW' JERSEY.

' VISCOSE PBODUGL. i

Appliltionnled lay 1, 1926. Serial N0. 105,943.

cose into a lieated atmosphere or into an aqueous solution containing asuitable acid, for instance, sulphuric or hydrochloric acid, orcontaining an acid salt such as sodium bisulphite or ammonium chloride,either with or without neutral salts or dehydrators,

I or both.

All such viscose products are amorphous and primarily so soft andimpressionable that they may be marred by handling and must bedehydrated and. desiccated to render them firm enough in texture forcommercial use. Ordinarily, elimination of surplus moisture fromfilaments thus formed is effected by exposing them to air either at, orabove, atmospheric temperature, while wound upon reels, and it ischaracteristic. of filaments thus produced that they are only `capableof an average of eighteen percent,

elongation without fracture.

It is the object and effect of my invention to provide products such asfilaments and threads for ordinary textile weaving, and what is termedartificial horsehair, for millinery and other use, of such character asto be capable of greater elongation than the normal products aforesaid,and the products of my invention produced in accordance herewith are, infact, capable of atleast one hundred` per cent elongation withoutfracture.

Such capacity for elongation is of great advantage in the use of suchfilaments in the formation of textile fabrics, wherein the lilaments aresubjected to unequal stresses; such as are occasioned by weaving suchlaments in jacquard patterns for upholstery cover ings and draperies,and particularly for fabrics which are to be embossed; for in'- stance,textile fabrics which are used to form hat crowns and-parts thereof inthe millinery trade, andit is to be particularly noted that the abnormalcapacity for elongation characteristic of my improved products is not,strictly speaking, elasticity, for the filaments do not manifest anytendency to retract or return to their initial length after beingelongated, but are non-resilient and stay in the form to which they areextended. Consequently, such filaments and fabrics made therefrom may beembossed or otherwise deformed to any desired conguration, withoutallowance for any renitence, whereas, the filaments of the prior artheretofore used for the purposes above contemplated, do manifest suchrenitence.

Moreover, such a filament of the prior art is easily deformed even bycontact with itself in successive convolutions, land even slightindentations of the ultimate commerical filament formed by drying andcontraction from itsprimarily soft gelatinous form are conspicuouslynoticeable because of the reflection of light therefrom; whereas, the`commerical value of such a filament is largely dependent upon itsuniformity of cross section and uniformly lustrous appearance.Therefore, my invention has the further advantage that filamentsproduced in accordance therewith have such uniformity of cross sectionand uniformly lustrous appearance. j

My invention includes the various novel features of construction,arrangement and procedure herein set forth.

In the` accompanying drawings; Fig. I is a transverse vertical sectionalview of a paratus including foraminous trays with te freshly coagulatedfilaments loosely coiled therein, in an inclosure to which they may besubjected to the `action of a dehyrating.

medium. v Y

Fig. II is a transverse vertical sectional view of a retort containing aspool with vis-V cose filaments wound in convolutions thereon forsubjection to the action of a dehydrating medium.

I have found it convenient to form viscose by subjectin soda-celluloseto the action of carbon bisulphide; for instance, in the proportions ofone hundred parts of the alkali-cellulose to ten parts ofthe carbonbisulphde, although a small excess of the latter is negligible. Thecellulose sulphocarbonate thus formed is a loose mass, differing inappearance from soda-cellulose only by its pale yellow color. I thenproject the liquid viscose through suitable spinnerets into acoagulating bath, conveniently an aqueous solution containing fourteen`per cent of sodium bisulphite and one-fourth of Vone per cent oftri-sodium phosphate. I discharge the coagulated laments 1 from saidbath into trays 2 conveniently formed of any suitable foraminousmaterial; forv in` stance, perforated sheet Monel metal. During thedeposition of the filaments in said trays; the filaments and trays maybe relatively shifted both lon 'tudinally and trausversel b any suitab emechanical means, or by han so that, as each filament 1V drops, it isreceived and coiled both transversely and longitudinally in itsrespective tray 2 which may be convenienti three inches deep, one footwide, and t ree feet long. Then said trays 2 are sutliciently chargedwith filaments 1, they may be tem rarily included in any suitabledehydrating apparatus, for instance, in a paratus of the type claimed inmy co en ingl application Serial No. 105,945 file May 1, 1926 forLetters Patent of the United States for improvement in apparatus fordehydrating viscose products, wherein such trays are successively pushedthrough the dehydrating apparatus 4 indicated in Fi I which is what maybe termed a tunnel conveniently including two parallel passageways 5 and6, each of such dimensions as to permit the trays to be freely slidlongitudinally therethrough upon the guide rails 7, 8, and 9, which formsaid passageways. Said tunnel tube 4 is surrounded by the tube 11forming jacket spaces 12 between them which may be divided by transversepartitions to form a longitudinal series of compartments, say, three, ofwhich the intermediate compartment 13 may be supplied with a heatingmedium, such as warm water 14 which may be conveniently circulatedtherein through the inlet pipe 16 controlled by the valve 17,. and theoutlet pipe 18 controlled by the valve 19. Whereas, the end compartmentsmay be supplied with a refrigerating medium, for instance cold water,which may be conveniently circulated therethrough by way of the inlet pie 21 controlled by the valve 22 and the out et pipe 23 controlled by thevalve 25.

The wall of said warm, intermediate, compartment 13 may be slightlydepressed beneath said passageways 5 and 6 to form a shallow basin 26 torecevealcohol 27, prererably ethyl hydroxid, CzHOH, which may beconvenientl introduced to said tunnel 4 through the pipe 29 controlledby the valve 30. The warmth of said intermediate section of the tunnelvaporizes said alcohol which percolates through the perforations of saidtrays 2 and surrounds the convolutions of the filaments 1 piled in said'trays, with the effect of dehydrating said filaments. Of course, thealcoholic vapors tend to escape longitudinally through said passageways;but the walls of the end sections of said tunnel are maintained at suchlow tem perature, by the refrigerating means aforesaid, that such vaporsare condensed and gravitate back to said basin 26 where they are a involatilized by the heating medium. owever, I find it convenient toprovide said basin with a drain pipe 32 controlled by the valve 33 topermit said passagewa s 5 and 6 to be cleaned when necessary, y flushingthem with water.

The process above described is so economical that fifty cubiccentimeters of said liquid alcohol is sufficient to completely dehydratefour dr f pounds of the filament. However, it is to e understood thatthe ordinary alcoliol above specified is preferable only by reason ofits low cost, as the higher alcohols act even more energetically and,therefore, it is to be understood that my invention' includes theutilization of an alcoholic liquid or vapor for the purpose escribed.

Said trays 2 discharged from the deliydrating apparatus 4 may be shiftedto filament winding mechanism, including individual windingr devices forwinding the filaments separately upon spools; `the treatment abovedescribed having been such as to render the filaments smoothlyc'ylinderical and so far resistant to deformation that they may be thuswound without detriment.

I find it convenient to form the filament spools of hard rubber, of thesha e shown in Fig. II, each including a cylin rical tubu,

lar perforated barrel 35, two inches in diameter and five inches long,between end heads' 36v which are four inches in diameter. A Under somecircumstances, I find it referable to pass the trays 2.throuh saidehydrating apparatus 4 so rapidly that the filament 1 contents thereofare not completely desiccated during such passage, and to furtherdehydrate such filaments after they are woun upon such s ools, byiminersing the latter in an alco olic environ ment, in any suitablecontainer, for instance, in a retort 38 havin the removable lid 39. Thedehydrating fluid may be circulated in said retort by wa of the inletpipe 40 controlled by the va ve 4l, and an outlet pipe 42 controlled bythe `valve 43. Said retort is arranged to be warmed by an suitablemeans, for instance by contact witii the subjacent container 46 char edwith `warm water or steam 47 conveniently circulated therethrough by wayof the inlet pipe 48 controlled by the valve 49, and the outlet pige 50controlled bythe valve 51.

he dehydration effected by said apparatus shown in Fig. II rooeedsoutwardly from the inner convo utions of the' filaments 1 on the spoolbarrels 35, as well as inwardly from the outer convolutions of saidfilamentslthus wound, so that a8 the filament progressively shrinks,vthe eonvolutions are loosened and the initial tension thereof relaxed,with the effect of avoiding the stretching ofthe filaments whichs-inevitable when they are subjected to a dehydrating medium which isonly accessible to the outer convolutions thereof for, in the lattercase, the outer convolutions in shrinking must stretch over the innereonvolutons which have not been shrunken or-relaxed.L

described; the effect thereo is to produce filaments which aredistinguished from lil- 'ame'nts of the prior art by the advantageousabnormal elongation aforesaid, and also by their greater uniformity andbrilliance and consequent commercial Value. words; it is characteristicof my invention, as

above described,l first, that the dehydrationand desiccation of thefilament is completed in an alcoholic atmosphere; second, that thefilament is subjected to the action of alcohol after it has beencompletely formed by coagulation, precipitation and setting; third, thatthe, filament is left free to progressively shrink until it iscompletely dried; fourth,A

that such drying is effected Without stretching the filament; l'ifth,that the filament thus treated is not only characterized by abnormalluster or gloss, as compared with normal viscose filaments; but, sixth,is constricted to uniformly cylindrical cross section; and seventh, isrendered practically non-resilient; so that, eighth, when thus dried, itis capable o f abnormal elongation as compared with any'non-resilientviscose product, and at least lone hundred percent, permanent inelasticelongation without fracture; while ninth, retainlng uniformity ofcylindrical cross section and uniformity of luster or gloss, throughoutits length.

Although I find it convenient' to use apparatusconstructed and arrangedand in the manner above described, and claimed in my copendingapplication aforesaid, in the manufacture of my improved product; I

' do not desire to limit myself thereto, as it is obvious that variousmodifications may be made therein, without departing from the essentialfeatures of my invention, Vas herein claimed.

I claim:

' 1,'A non-resilient, abnormally lustrous viscose product, residue of animpure cellulose hydrate complex, after dehydration by contact with warmalcoholic vapor until it iscompletely dried; characterized by 'capacityfor elongation, without fracture,

In other viscose a greater extent than-normal viscose ucts, otherwisedehydrated.

2. A filamentous non-resilient, abnormally lustrous viscose product,residue of an impure cellulose hydrate complex, after dehydration bycontact with warm alcoholic prodacterized by .capacity for elongation,without fracture, to a greater extent than normal viscose products,otherwise dehydrated; and further characterized' by constriction thereofto uniformly smoothcylindrical form.

3. 'A non-resilient, abnormally lustrous produca residue of an impurecellulose hy ratecomplex, after dehydration by contact with an alcoholicmedium until it is completely dried; characterized by capacity forelongation, without fracture, to the extent of one hundred per ent.

4. A non-resilient, abnormally lustrous viscose product, residue of animpure cellulose hydrate complex, after dehydration by contact with warmalcoholic vapor until it is completely dried; characterized by capacityfor elongation, without fracture, to the extent of one hundred per cent.l

5. A filamentous non-resilient, abnormally lustrous viscose product,residue of an impure cellulose `hydrate complex, after dehydration bcontact with an alcoholic medium until it 1s completely dried;characterized by capacity for elongation, without fracture,

-totheextent of one hundred per cent; and

. per cent; and further characterized by constricti'on thereoftouniformly drical form. v

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Burlington, NewJersey, this 27th day of April 1926.

SAMUEL A. Nennen.

smooth cylinvapor. until Ait `is completely dried; char``

